7 Things We Learned on the Set of No Time To Die

In No Time To Die, Daniel Craig’s final, long-awaited mission as 007 brings him to Cuba’s El Nido, a fictional bar linked to a gorgeous hotel and theater. This trip is going to end in the carnage, just like so many of Bond’s prior visits to luxury resorts in attractive places. The explosions and bullets didn’t alarm the Cuban authorities since Craig and his fellow cast and crew shot the sequence in England, where a vast slice of Latin America had been creating at Pinewood Studios, London.

IGN was invited to see this sumptuous set during the final days of No Time To Die’s filming schedule in October 2019, long before the coronavirus epidemic threw the film’s timetable into disarray. We were able to get a detailed look at the designs, props, costumes, and automobiles used in Daniel Craig’s final James Bond assignment. Here are seven of the most fascinating things we discovered while filming No Time To Die.

1. Making a Return to Madeleine’s Past

In No Time To Die, he will rekindle his relationship with Madeleine Swann, played by Léa Seydoux, the French psychologist he first met during the events of Spectre. She’ll play an important role in No Time To Die, with one scene taking place in Norway, where she grew up.

Mark Tildesley, the production designer, noted, “She’s in a winter residence on an ice lake up in Norway, and she’s there with her mother.” “Then a terrible catastrophe occurs that will forever change her life. Someone comes to pay her father, a master assassin, a visit. He isn’t present. And then something occurs. It’s a disaster.”

This is a narrative we’re already familiar with, thanks to Madeleine’s telling of it to Bond in Spectre. With her father’s pistol, she shot and killed the intruder, giving birth to her hatred of guns. This time, though, the proceedings will document on film, and we’ll finally see the assailant who was looking for her Spectre-operative father, Mr. White.

Madeline and Bond will return to the Norway home in the future, necessitating the building of three separate replicas of the house to reflect the passage of time. Two of them were built on set, while the one seen at the start was built atop a frozen lake according to director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s instructions.

2. Masked Assassin, starring Rami Malek

“Our baddie, who comes to wreak havoc at Madeline’s house in the sequence in Norway, is Segura, and he played by Rami Malek,” Tildesley added. Take a look at the film’s trailer to figure out which scene this is; the disfigured masked assassin is unmistakably Malek at Madeleine’s lake house in Norway.

Madeleine not only failed to kill her father’s would-be murderer that night but he’s also reappeared in her life for some reason. The reason for his reappearance is unknown, but the fact that Tildesley referred to him as “Segura” rather than the character’s actual name of Safin suggests Malik’s shadowy terrorist may have a few more surprises in store.

We already knew Safin had no religious convictions, but Tidesley revealed that he worked for a pharmaceutical company. Is Safin a doctor because of his illustrious past? No? It’s a seductive fan idea, to be sure (one that Fukunaga swears is completely false), but it’s unclear where his allegiance lie. Given that he was in Norway to assassinate a Spectre agent, he may be a third party, but we wouldn’t rule out Bond’s deadliest foe murdering his people.

3. Bond’s Ultimate Goal

Bond has left MI6 following the events of Spectre. But the world of espionage isn’t ready to let him go just yet. Michael G. Wilson, a veteran 007 producer, said, “Felix Leiter comes and demands something of [Bond] only to pick up a parcel in Cuba.” “The box turns out to be a person, and Lyshanna [Lynch], who plays a British agent, wants the package as well, but for the British rather than the Americans. As a result, a gunfight erupts.”

This initial favor to the CIA appears to turn into a much broader conspiracy, and Bond is drawn back into a life of risk and tragedy. No Time To Die’s major plot will undoubtedly revolve around this strange person-shaped parcel, which has later been revealed to be a missing scientist called Valdo Obruchev (played by Chernobyl’s David Dencik). They also guarantee that Bond will find his way to Pinewood Studios in Cuba.

4. The Shootout in El Nido

From the outside, the El Nido set appeared to be typical, if plain, Cuban structure. However, things were heating up inside. That gunfight indicated by Wilson had begun, which could only imply Bond and Lynch’s 00-agent Nomi had discovered the cargo.

I was able to observe Daniel Craig filming take after taking of an action sequence with men with a metal suitcase being jerked upwards to the ceiling on TV monitors attached to the set’s cameras. Craig had his revolver drawn – the case had fallen into the wrong hands – and he was joined by a stunning woman wielding her firearm.

Ana de Armas played Paloma, a CIA spy dispatched by Leiter to assist Bond in his mission. Craig has reunited with his Knives Out co-star thanks to a stroke of casting genius. With Bond’s loyalty probably split between his present and previous employers, it’s unclear whether he’ll aid Paloma in completing the task or aid MI6’s new 00 agents, Nomi, in obtaining the target.

5. Shadow of Vesper

The Craig era of Bond is remarkable for its ongoing narrative, which progressively reveals Spectre’s multiple limbs. 007’s soul, on the other hand, has been tormented by that of Vesper Lynd, his Casino Royale girlfriend who turned out to be yet another weapon in Spectre’s arsenal.

Bond’s current romantic girlfriend, Madeleine, will inspire him to achieve closure in No Time To Die. “She persuades him to pay a visit to Vesper’s grave as part of his catharsis of moving on with her,” Tidesley explained.

However, it’s uncertain whether that catharsis will ever occur, especially in light of the first trailer’s opening visuals. Madeleine, who has accused Bond of following in Vesper’s footsteps, asks, “Why would I betray you?” “We all have our secrets,” an enraged 007 responds.

According to Tidesley, this knowledge brings back the ghosts of Bond’s past. “He is now in a state of anguish because he believes another person he cares about has betrayed him.”

6. An Improved Aston Martin

The video shows that incident as part of a wider vehicle pursuit involving Bond’s legendary Aston Martin DB5. It thunders through Matera, Italy’s small cobblestone lanes before landing in a hilltop square.

Chris Corbould, the SFX supervisor for No Time To Die, stated, “In this square, he’s captured, he’s t-boned in the side.” “The villains’ automobiles block all exits, and they begin pouring full magazines of bullets. “Bond is in the car, taking it all in.”

Q Branch made certain that this Aston Martin is well-equipped. It’s received a major boost since its previous appearance. Instead of Browning, Behind the front indicator lights are 30 caliber machine guns, and the entire headlamp segment retracts to show rotary mini-guns. It’s the ideal escape device.

“[Bond] presses a button, places it in a doughnut, and strafes 360 degrees around the ancient square,” says the narrator “Corbould elaborated. “We suffocated the entire plaza with the smoke he emits from his exhaust. And that’s how he manages to get away.”

A dispenser under the back bumper that shoots off small explosives joins these stunning new gadgets. The license plate has also been updated, with the old revolving plates being replaced by an LCD screen that can display whichever plate Bond needs to stay covert.

7. Q Toys (Slightly) Classic

The Aston Martin DB5 isn’t the only car with new features. The last scenes of Skyfall hinted that the Craig era was drifting closer to the hallmarks of old Bond, and Q Branch’s contributions in No Time To Die to make that clearer than ever. While a tour of Pinewood Studios’ prop warehouse revealed no exploding pens or laser watches, prop master Ben Wilkinson agreed that the various props used in No Time To Die have a more retro, almost throw-back vibe.

A device Wilkinson refers to as “Qdar” sits atop the lab bench, whirring and oscillating like an old-school gadget despite appearing to be a PlayStation peripheral. Wilkinson explained, “That’s scanning the surrounding area and sending information back up to Q.” “He can give them advice on where they should go and what they should do.”

With a grin, he remarked, “But my favorite part of that is his traveling tea set.” He opened a drawer in the lab, which was fully equipped with a Ritz-quality brew set. The sense of humor in this film, then, is unmistakably vintage.

Q’s portable laboratory, which features a tracking array, is a sort of mechanic’s workbench constructed by stealth bomber designers. Wilkinson explains, “He injects Bond and Nomi with a sophisticated blood tracker so he can see what they’re up to and where they’re going.” The injection pistol is made of blue and white plastic and appears to be a relic from the Connery era.

When No Time To Die opens in the UK on September 30, 2021, and in the US on October 8, we’ll see how all of these components integrate into the film. See how Bond perfected the ‘grim’ remake for more information.